The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-08-12

You ask ne: "Do they have real harps,
and real trumpees, and real organs?" do
not know. Some wiseacrss say positively
there ere no such things IN Heaven. do
not know; but should NOT b surprised II
the God who made all the mountains, and
all the hills, and all the forests, and ell
the metals Of the earth, and all the
grUwths of the universe-I should not be
surprised il He could, il He had . mind
to, make few harps, and trumpets, and
organs.
Grand old Haydn, sick and worn out,
was carried for the last time into the music
hall, and there he heard his own oratorio
Of the Creation" History says that ~
the orchestra came 10 that famous passage,
"Let there BE- Light" the whole audience
rose and cheered, and Haydn waved his
hand toward Heaven and said: sit came
from there" Overwhelmed with his own
music, he was carried out in his chair, and
es he came to the door he spread his hand
toward the orchestra a. in benediction.
Haydn was right when he waved his
hand toward Heaven and said: ut comes
from there" Music was born in Heaven,
and 1t will ever have its highest throne in
Heaven; and I want you to understand
that our departed friends who were pas
sionately zond Of music here are now at the
headquarters of harmony. think that the
grand old church tunes that died when
your grandfathers died have gone with
them to Heaven.
Again, remark that those of our des
parted Christian friends who in this world
had very strong military spirit are
now in armies celestial and out on
bloodless battles. There are hun
dreds Of people born soldiers. They
can not help it. They belong to regiments
in time of peace. They can not hear a
drum OF fife without trying to keep step to
the music. They are Christians, and when
they fight they fight on the right side. Now
when these, our Christian friends who had
natural and powerful military spirit, en-
tered Heaven they entered the celestial
army.
The door Of Heaven hardly opens but
you hear q military demonstration. David
cried out: 1.-THE chariots of God are twenty
thousand" Elisha saw the mountains filed
with celestial cavalry. st. John said
'The armies which are in Heaven followed
him on. white horses" Now, whom those
who had the military spirit on eaY.h sane
titled entered glory, suppose they right
away enlisted in some heavenly campaign;
the volunteered right away. There must
needs be in Heaven soldiers with soldier.
~ spirit. There arc grand pdrade days
whsn the King reviews the troops. There
must be armed escort sent out to bring up
from earth to Heaven those who were
L. ~
crusades ever being fitted out for some
part Of Gods dominions- battles, blood.
less, groanless, painless. Angels Of evil
to be fought down and fought back. Other
rebellious worlds to be conquered. Worlds
to be put to the torch. Worlds TO be
saved. Worlds to be demolished. Worlds
to be sunk. Worlds to be hoisted.
Besides that, in our own world there are
battles for the right and against the wrong
where we must have the heavenly mill
tary. That is what keeps us Christian re-
formers 80 buoyant. So few good men
against so many bad men, SO few churches
against 80 many grog-shops, 80 few pure
printing presses against so many polluted
printing presses; and yet We are buOyant
and courageous, because while we know
that the armies of evil in the world are
larger in number than the army of the
truth, there are celestial cohorts in the air
fighting on our side.
have not so much faith in the army on
the ground as have in the army in the
air. o, God! open our eyes that we may
see them. The military spirits that went
up from earth to join the military spirits
before the throne-Joshua, and Caleb, and
Gideon, and David. and Samson, and the
hundreds of Christian warriors who on
earth fought with fcshy arm, and now
having gone up on high, are coming down
the hills Of Heaven to fight among the in.
visibles. Yonder they are-coming, com
ing, coming. Did you not hear them as
they swept by!
But what are our mathematical friends
to do in the next world? They found their
joy and their delight in mathematics.
There was more poetry for them in Euclid
thar In John Milton. They were as pas
sioEasely fond Of mathematics as Plato,
who wrote over his door: "Let no one
en.er here who IL not acquainted with
geometry" What are they doing now!
They are busy with figures yet. No place
ih all the universe like Heaven for figures.
Numbers infinite, distances infinite, calcu-
|
eaid he really thought that the redeemed
in Heaven spent some Of their time with
the higher branches Of mathematics.
Some Of our transferred and transported
,hetaphysicians. What are they doing
now? Studying the human mind, only
under better circumstances than they
used to study it. They used to study the
mind sheathed in the dull human
body. Now the spirit is unsheath-
ed-now they are studying the sword out
side the scabbard. Have you any doubt
about what Sir William Hamilton is doing
in Heaven, or what Jonathan Edwards is
doing in Heaven, or the multitudes on
earth who had passion for metaphysic
sanctificd by the grace Of God: No diff.
Guilty in guessing. Metaphysics, glorious
metaphysics, everlasting metaphysics.
What are our departed Christian friends
who are explorers doing now: Exploring
vet, but with lightning locomotion, with
vision microscopic and telescope at the
same time. A continent at q glance. A
world in second. A planetary system in
day. Christian John Franklin no more
in disabled Erebus pushing toward the
North Pole, Christian De Long no
more trying to free blockaded Jeanette
from the ice. Christian Livingstone
no more amid African malarins trying
TO make revelation Of . dark continent
but all of them in the twinkling Of An eye
taking in that which was unapproachable.
Mont Blanc scaled without alpenstock.
The coral depth Of the ocean explored
without diving bell. The mountains UNI
barred and opened without Sir Humphrey
Davy's safety lamp.
What are our departed friends who found
their chief joy in study doing now! Study
ing yet, but instead Of q few thousand
volumes on o few shelves, all the volumes
of the universe open before them-geologic,
al In14 LIT